Tuesday, March 31, 2015, 1:14 p.m.

Bombings in Iraq striking markets, funeral kill 44

By The Associated Press

This article was published January 15, 2014 at 7:56 a.m.

PHOTO BY AP/KARIM KADIM

Civilians and security forces gather at the site of a car bomb attack near the Technology University in Sinaa Street in downtown Baghdad on Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2014. A wave of bombings across Iraq striking busy markets and a funeral north of Baghdad killed tens of people Wednesday, authorities said, as the country remains gripped by violence after al-Qaida-linked militants took control of two cities in western Anbar province.

BAGHDAD — A wave of bombings across Iraq striking busy markets and a funeral north of Baghdad killed at least 44 people Wednesday, authorities said, as the country remains gripped by violence after al-Qaida-linked militants took control of two cities in western Anbar province.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attacks. Insurgent groups, mainly al-Qaida's local branch and other Sunni militants, frequently target civilians in cafes and public areas, as well as Shiites and members of Iraqi security forces in an attempt to undermine confidence in the Shiite-led government and stir sectarian tensions.

The deadliest attack struck a funeral in the town of Buhriz, about 35 miles north of Baghdad. That bombing killed 16 people and wounded 26 inside of a mourning tent, a police officer said.

The funeral was for an anti-al-Qaida Sunni militiaman who died of natural causes two days ago. The Sunni militia, known as the Awakening Council, was formed by U.S. forces during the height of the insurgency. They are seen as traitors by al-Qaida's local branch and other militant groups.

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If you were born into a world that fears and oppresses its women, starves their mental lives, a culture in which every sect seems to hate all others with a venom presumably derived from some kind of religious bent that is impossible to comprehend, you too might just be a serial killer by instinct. You too might find a ‘normal’ life unacceptable and look for the most extreme way of venting all your suppressed energy and pent-up rage—gleefully or grimly murdering others who presumably disagree with your twisted views. That, as I see it, describes with few exceptions the vast human wilderness referred to as the Middle East and parts of the Continent of Africa. There is no known cure even as we of the rest of the world pretend we can with words change all this madness that never pauses to think about what it is doing.